Woman saves toddler from water, urges people to be vigilant

JIM RYDBOM/jrydbom@greeleytribune.com
Amy Dyer-Martin sits next to the place on the shore of the reservoir at Sanborn Park on Monday afternoon where she saved a 3-year-old boy from a possible drowning on Saturday.

JIM RYDBOM/jrydbom@greeleytribune.com
Amy Dyer-Martin explains where she pulled out a 3-year-old boy from a reservoir at Sanborn Park in Greeley from possibly drowning. The incident occurred on Saturday.

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Amy Dyer-Martin was enjoying perfect crawdad-fishing weather on Saturday with her family at the reservoir in Sanborn Park when she heard her son yell and she saw something bobbing in the water.

She quickly realized that a small child was struggling to keep his head above water, so her husband called 911 as she ran across the bank and jumped in. Chest deep in the reservoir, she slipped on moss-covered rocks as she tried to get the 3-year-old boy to shore.

The boy was breathing and seemingly unharmed when she pulled him out, and the boy’s father said there was no need for treatment when Greeley paramedics arrived. Dyer-Martin knows the outcome could have been much worse, and she’s hoping to use her experience to tell people that if they see a child in danger, they need to take action.

Dyer-Martin said on Saturday, the boy’s father was on the other side of the reservoir bank with a group of people at a party. She said the boy had been playing on the rocks and was in the water unbeknownst to his family. She said she wants parents and others to realize how quickly children can slip into dangerous situations when they’re not being supervised.

“In the end, we’re all responsible for the little people we have our eyes on,” Dyer-Martin said.

Dyer-Martin said she and her neighbors have worked with the Greeley Police Department’s Neighborhood Action Team to start a neighborhood watch. The message she’s received from officers is that it’s always important to speak up to police if a child might be in danger.

“I’ve become more educated on how badly (the police department) really needs us to be their eyes and ears,” she said. “If we’re not doing our job, then they can’t do theirs.”

She said before talking with officers, she would often avoid intervening when she saw a child unattended, worried about interfering in other people’s business. Now, she says, she won’t hesitate to call police if a child isn’t being watched.

“It has made me much more passionate and much less tolerant,” she said.

Greeley police Sgt. Susan West, spokeswoman for the office, said the motto “See something, say something” is vital in successful neighborhood watches. She said the department encourages any type of suspicious activity, especially anything involving children, to be reported.

“That gives us the opportunity to come out and investigate it and see what the problem is and what can be done about it,” West said.

Dyer-Martin said she got involved in the neighborhood watch because she wanted to help ensure the safety of children around her, but she never imagined she’d save a child like she did on Saturday.

She remembers that the little boy was the only thing on her mind as she ran for the water, but her emotions caught up with her later. She said she cried that night as she reflected on what had happened and how easily it might have been one of her own.

“If it were my kid, even if it were my dog, I would pray to God that someone would jump in,” she said.